Royal Wedding Party

Royal Wedding Party

Well I made the crumpets for the Royal Wedding Party held at my friend Susan's house. I used the recipe and instructions from the King Arthur Flour website (I think that is fitting--I mean King Arthur being British and all too). http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/crumpets-recipe
Here is the encapsulated batter (these are egg poaching rings that we have; doesn't every kitchen have these?).

Here they are all finished and ready to be served with strawberry jam and tea.

And so we celebrated with the crumpets, as well as little tea sandwiches and Champagne. Just a pair of Queens.....

Easter Meal

They have risen! Such a good thing for Easter Sunday don't you think? These are the yeast buns I made for the smoked beef brisket that Jay is preparing for our guests. I really like making breads--there's just nothing that compares with that warm, yeasty aroma as it bakes. One year for Easter I made this Easter egg bread.

You actually put the colored, raw eggs in the dough and then bake the whole thing. I was afraid the eggs might explode in the oven, but they turned out perfectly cooked. For the final touch at our Easter meal, look at the clever cake our friend baked and brought for the celebration!

Horse Manure or White Sauce

Some time ago my friend Gary and I were discussing the care and management of our respective asparagus patches. We had opposing notions regarding the advisability of using rock salt as a weed deterrent. When another friend happened into the room, he asked, "Pat what does your father put on his asparagus?" She replied, "horse manure".
Between fits of laughter I asked, "What would be wrong with a nice white sauce?"
Well there is nothing wrong with a nice white sauce, but there is something wrong with an ordinary old white sauce. So here's how I like to elevate a typical white sauce recipe to a luscious, lip-licking one with just some simple additions.
Recipe:
2 T. real butter
A couple of sprigs of fresh thyme leaves
2 T. all purpose flour
1 cup whole milk (or lighten it up with 2% but no fat-free please!)
A pinch of grated nutmeg
S & P to taste
Melt the butter in a sauce pan, add the thyme leaves and cook over low heat just a moment or two until aromatic and golden. Whisk in the flour and slowly add the milk stirring the entire while. When the sauce becomes thickened add the grated nutmeg (yes, I have one of those little micro plane graters and real nuts) and salt and pepper. It's yummy on asparagus and almost every other vegetable, but I bet it would also be good atop meatloaf or biscuits. Of course if you want to take your sauce to a decadent level, grate some Smoked Gouda Cheese over the dish and you are in Heaven--much better than horse manure!

A pink Depression Glass dish holds this serving.

My First Blog

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2011
Well here is my first stab at blogging. I'm going to just write about things in my everyday life as the Blog title implies.
I subscribe to Food and Wine magazine and an article from the February 2011 issue provided a list of 5 widely available reds and 5 available whites to try. I decided to try each and rate them on a scale of 1-10 as far as my palate is concerned. Magazine in hand, I approached the sommalier at the local grocer's wine and spirit section and asked for the Apothic Red 2008 California. He obligingly directed me toward the section of the cellar containing the blends. He indicated that if I enjoyed the Apothic Red then I would most certainly be the type of wine taster who would enjoy "menage trois". I smacked him with the Food and Wine magazine. Then he explained that it is a blend of three California grapes as is the Apothic Red. I liked the Red better than the Menage Trois.